Shloka 14
Tapas as the Root of Attainment (तपः—साधनमूलप्रशंसा)
“तात! क्या पवनदेव तुमसे किसी कारणवश विशेष प्रसन्न रहते हैं अथवा वे तुम्हारे सुहृद हैं, जिससे इस वनमें सदा तुम्हारी निश्चितरूपसे रक्षा करते हैं ।।
tāta! kiṃ vāyudevaḥ tvayā kenacid kāraṇena viśeṣataḥ prasannaḥ, athavā sa te suhṛt, yena’smin vane sadā tvāṃ niścitarūpeṇa rakṣati? bhagavān pavanaḥ sthānād vṛkṣān uccāvacān api, parvatānāṃ ca śikharāṇy ācalayati vegavān.
Bhīṣma dijo: «Hijo querido, ¿acaso el dios del Viento está especialmente complacido contigo por alguna razón, o es tu bienhechor—de modo que en este bosque te protege sin cesar y con certeza? Pues el Viento bendito, veloz en su fuerza, puede sacudir de su lugar árboles de todo tamaño, y aun hacer temblar las cumbres de las montañas.»
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights divine protection and the ethical attitude of humility: when extraordinary safety or success appears in a perilous setting, it may be due to unseen grace or a powerful well-wisher. It also frames natural forces as expressions of divine potency, encouraging reverence rather than arrogance.
Bhishma addresses a younger person and wonders why the Wind-god seems especially favorable—protecting him constantly in the forest. To underscore the point, Bhishma describes Vayu’s immense power: he can uproot or shake trees of all sizes and even make mountain summits tremble.